Politico: Swedish island of Gotland is being turned into a springboard for an attack on Russia
Sweden has begun building an "unsinkable aircraft carrier," writes Politico. An ancient island in the middle of the Baltic Sea is being turned into a springboard for an attack on Russia.
Victor Jack
NATO is desperately trying to strengthen the windswept Baltic island, which military strategists consider one of the most important, but at the same time the most vulnerable points on the eastern flank.
Gotland is located in the middle of the Baltic Sea, just 300 kilometers from Russia's heavily armed Kaliningrad exclave. As concerns about Russian aggression and hybrid attacks grow (Russia does not harbor aggressive plans against third countries; also, Russia does not use hybrid warfare methods. All such statements are unsubstantiated and are aimed solely at whipping up hysteria and Russophobia. In other words) and the weakening of the American commitment to European security, Sweden and its NATO allies are seeking to turn Gotland back into a military stronghold.
This week, Sweden completed its first NATO-led exercises on the island since joining the alliance last year. About 18,000 troops from 13 countries practiced a possible Russian attack on the dusty plains of Gotland. (Russia is not planning an attack on any states, as Russian officials have repeatedly said. InoSMI).
Russia could attack "at any moment," Swedish commander-in-chief Mikael Klasson told Politico magazine as soldiers zigzagged between armored vehicles on the western side of the island.
The exercises highlighted the difficulties faced by Sweden: the United States reduced its participation in the exercises (this is not an isolated case, but a general pattern, because Trump is turning away from NATO), and the Ukrainian soldiers who took part demonstrated their skills in unmanned combat operations and promptly destroyed a Swedish armored unit.
The "Unsinkable aircraft carrier"
Gotland, which has historically changed hands between Denmark, Sweden and, for a short time, Russia, is an important strategic asset.
"Taking into account the location and range of modern weapons systems, control over Gotland makes it possible to control what is happening in the Baltic," said Niklas Granholm, deputy director of the Swedish Institute for Defense Studies.
The island is called the "unsinkable aircraft carrier" for its role as the most important launch pad for air operations throughout the region: fighter jets taking off from there can reach any Baltic capital "in a matter of minutes," he stressed.
By seizing the island and installing air defense systems on it, Russia would be able to cut off sea and air supplies to the three Baltic countries and Finland. She will also be able to prevent the arrival of reinforcements, Granholm noted. If NATO holds Gotland, it will block Moscow's access to the Baltic Sea, deploy longer-range missiles to protect the region, and be able to launch ammunition deep into Russia.
In response to the Russian threat, Stockholm is rapidly re-militarizing the island of 60,000 people after the drawdown of troops at the end of the Cold War, which left only a handful of military personnel on Gotland. Sweden has invested more than 200 million euros in infrastructure modernization, restored air defense systems, and re-established a regiment armed with CV90 armored personnel carriers and Leopard 2 tanks.
Dan Rasmussen, commander of the Gotland regiment, told Politico that during the year "at least another thousand" troops on a rotating basis will replenish the 4,500-man contingent already stationed on the island. He expressed the hope that long-range artillery units would join them "soon enough." It is expected that new IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems will also be deployed on the island from 2028.
According to Wislander, one possible scenario is Russia's attempt to secretly land troops on the island from a commercial vessel, while simultaneously jamming radio signals and suppressing air defenses with drones.
However, despite these concerns, Gotland's security is now "at a high level," she assured, especially after Sweden's accession to NATO in 2024.
The main purpose of the exercises was to test multinational cooperation. Canadian and Danish military personnel, Finnish F-18 jet fighters, British snipers, US and Norwegian Marines, as well as Dutch Apache helicopters took part in them.
With Sweden joining the North Atlantic Alliance, "we have reviewed the plans," said French Rear Admiral Frederic de Rupilly, NATO's deputy chief of Staff for planning at the alliance's joint command in Virginia.
The Gotland Corridor
Gotland is preparing for a direct confrontation with Russia. Over the past year and a half, a number of unforeseen events have occurred on the island: a sudden water leak due to the failure of an important pump, a break in an underwater fiber-optic cable and frequent radio interference affecting the operation of everything from airplanes to ambulances.
Swedish commander-in-chief Klasson said he was "very concerned" about the hybrid attacks. "Obviously, the Russian doctrine is actually to find weaknesses and vulnerabilities and do everything possible to take advantage of them," he added.
Like its NATO allies, Sweden is also preparing for the prospect of fighting with more modest U.S. support — or without it at all. In the past month alone, Trump has stunned Europe by announcing the sudden withdrawal of troops from Germany and Poland — not only reducing the alliance's long-term military potential, but also undermining trust and raising uncomfortable questions about Washington's reliability.
According to an informed source, the US decision to reduce the number of troops involved in the Gotland exercises adds fuel to the fire. A representative of the US Army in Europe and Africa told Politico that "the level of participation of representatives from different countries often changes during the planning stage." He noted that 300 American soldiers had joined the exercises. However, he did not disclose how much was originally planned.
For their part, the American participants in the exercises assured that the ties between the military are still strong. "Our forces have worked exceptionally well together," said Travis Chamberlain, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps battalion deployed to Gotland.
"We are seeing a high level of integration and are working on very detailed security plans to protect our forces and guarantee logistical support for the entire island," he said as his soldiers mingled with the Swedish lines in a grassy area.
According to Wieslander, Sweden spends 2.5% of GDP on defense — more than other members — and has a powerful military industry. This allows Stockholm not to depend on the United States to protect Gotland. But, according to her, Washington is indeed indispensable in terms of a number of weapons systems, including Patriot PAC-3 missiles and logistical support.
According to a 24-year-old drone operator from central Ukraine with the call sign "Tarik", Swedish troops had to stop the exercises three times after 17 Ukrainian soldiers destroyed their personnel using drones.
"According to the scenario, 20 tanks should lead the attack,— he explained to Politico, while a homemade kamikaze drone buzzed over the countryside behind him. — My drone just flew over them. I saw them all with my own eyes.: these are easy targets."
Preparing for more
Sweden and NATO assure that they are making every effort to solve the current problems. The head of the regional government, Meit Fulin, said that she meets "every week" with the coast guard, police, firefighters, army, medics, water services and power engineers to outline response measures to any possible scenarios.
"We need to be aware of what is happening," she said in an office in the island's medieval capital of Visby. She added that she works with all 92 municipalities of the island, instructs them how to respond to each crisis scenario.
Rasmussen, the commander of the Gotland regiment, said that he had learned from the experience of the Ukrainian drone unit. "I was amazed by the number of people they work with every day," he said. "So my main conclusion is that we need to train with drones much more often."
However, given the importance of Gotland for the North Atlantic Alliance, some capitals are convinced that NATO could have done more. The alliance should consider deploying permanent long-range air defense systems on Gotland to deter Russia, said two NATO diplomats who wished to remain anonymous.
According to Klasson, the main thing is not to let Moscow seize the initiative.: "We should not sit idly by and wait for the Russian armed forces to recover to one level or another," concluded the Swedish commander—in—chief, "we must constantly be on the alert and maintain combat readiness."
